| Idiom | Meaning | Sentence |
| hands are tied | no control over situation | The management genuinely wanted to increase the wages but their hands are tied as there is no income because of the current crisis. |
| corner a market | to dominate a specific market | Gibolo has cornered the market in fast food outlets. They have stores every nook and corner. |
| cut corners | to take shortcuts and find an easier or cheaper way to do something | Megan’s idea of cutting corner bounced back on her. She was shown the door the very next day. |
| back to square one | to restart | My project was not selected by the managing committee. I am back to square one. I admitted it was done in a jiffy. |
| blue collar | someone who works with hands – in manufacturing, construction or maintenance units | Coal Valley is a blue collar town with a lot of farmers and factory workers. Perhaps, that’s because of the new railway line coming up in the vicinity. |
| cut-throat | very intense, aggressive, and merciless | In business school, they prepare you for the cut-throat competitions. |
| call it a day | to decide to stop working for the day | Let’s call it a day, team. I am famished. We shall begin early morning tomorrow. |
| go broke/bankrupt | to lose all the money | In spite of repeated warnings, my uncle invested in one scheme. The company failed. He is broke. No point crying over the spilt milk. |
| go down the drain | wasted efforts | Andy dropped out of college in his third year and never continued his studies. All of his hard work and money went down the drain. |
| go the extra mile | to do more than what people expect. | We go the extra mile for our customers. If someone is dissatisfied with a purchase, we refund their money and offer them a discount on their next purchase. |